President Donald Trump is expected to curtail the Department of Education severely via executive order Thursday, fulfilling a campaign pledge and a vision long held by some in the Republican Party.
Trump’s public schedule for Thursday includes a 4 p.m. executive order signing and an “education event” in the East Room of the White House. That event will bring news that Trump seeks to eliminate the Education Department, USA Today reported.
The order has been in process for weeks and will direct Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to take “all necessary steps” to facilitate the department’s closure while returning education authority to the states, according to the outlet.
State-level Republican elected officials are expected to attend, including Govs. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), Bill Lee (R-TN), Greg Abbott (R-TX), Mike Braun (R-IN), Brad Little (R-ID), Glenn Youngkin (R-VA), Kim Reynolds (R-IA), and Mike DeWine (R-OH). GOP-aligned education advocacy groups, including Moms for Liberty, Concerned Women for America, and leaders from the Heritage Foundation, are expected to be in attendance as well.
Conservatives have long decried the agency as a slush fund for teachers unions that does not help schoolchildren, pointing to struggles in the nation’s education system and falling test scores since the Education Department was created 45 years ago.
However, Trump will not be able to abolish the department fully without the help of Congress, and his order is likely to meet court challenges, which are starting to pile up as the administration moves aggressively to implement its policies unilaterally.
The Trump administration has already halved the department’s workforce, slashing its payroll from roughly 4,200 to 2,100 via layoffs and deferred resignations.
Trump Education Department investigates 45 colleges over ‘race-based’ programs
Despite those cuts, the Trump White House has also used the Education Department to advance its goals, going after federally funded diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, investigating colleges over alleged civil rights violations, and warning schools that they must crack down on antisemitism on campus.
The Washington Examiner has contacted the White House seeking comment.